WOKING WRITERS CIRCLE ZOOM MEETING ON 17 JUNE 2021

Present: Amanda, Hilary, Alan, Liz, Greg, Carla, Alix, Heather 

Apologies: Simon, Tricia, Dan, Melanie

News:

Liz reported that the book group had read Shuggie Bain and would be discussing it at the meeting on Monday 21 June.

Alan’s book, Theta Double Dot, had been picked for consideration for a TV mini-series. Alan had received a most encouraging letter. He would let Greg have this to be shared on the WWC website. Members were encouraged to post reviews of Alan’s book on his Amazon website page.

Greg has posted Carla’s review of Michael Ayrton’s exhibition at the Lightbox on the WWC website.

The launch of Greg’s poetry collection Marples Must Go! is planned for September 2021, accompanied by “an avalanche” of publicity.

Hilary reminded members about the Guildford Fringe Festival and in particular the appearance of John Harper at 5pm on 10 July at The Star, Guildford. 

Greg raised the question of return to the church hall for face-to-face meetings and it was agreed that September was probably the soonest that this would happen. Hilary would investigate the position regarding bookings without committing to any firm arrangement. 

Amanda asked about a social get-together in August, possibly in Woking Park. It was agreed that early August would probably be good timing for such an event.

Readings:

Alix read ‘Alice in Wonderland’, reflecting the ‘Wonderland’ homework topic.  This was a profoundly moving story about a young girl with special needs, who ‘felt like a queen’ at home and encountered unkindness on her way home from school one day when older boys snatched her satchel. Although dealing with important issues, these are conveyed all the more effectively by the author’s lightness of touch. We are not told exactly what Alice’s problem is and this works well. Everyone agreed that Alix should write more fiction of this nature for the young adult market.

Heather read a poem about her own wonderland, ‘Pavarotti in the Kitchen’. This featured the ‘ridiculous’ activities associated with cooking a meal and the ‘sublime’ pleasure derived from Pavarotti’s rendition of La Boheme. Liz challenged someone to sing, Che gelida manina (in Italian) and, in a heartbeat, Carla magnificently obliged. A truly magical moment!

Hilary’s piece – as yet untitled – featured two characters who spoke in turn with no written device to identify the change of speaker. The first speaker is Julie, who we meet approaching the door of the house where her mother has recently died. The second speaker is the neighbour Marjorie, who doesn’t recognise Julie at first and is desperate to engage her in conversation, having an ‘eager to chat’ look on her face. Julie senses that Marjorie wants her to feel grateful. She remembers the cupcake that Marjorie gave her which her mother had thrown in the bin. All agreed that the changes of speaker were clear without any written indications. Hilary said she was about halfway through the story. It was suggested that the BBC might be an appropriate market, but Hilary said that they no longer accept pitches. Greg asked for information about short story competitions to be sent to him for the WWC website.

Liz read two pieces which flowed from her journals. The first piece, ‘Recalling’, featured a girl escaping from the confines of education to travel the world as a member of cabin crew for Emirates. The descriptions of fashions were vivid, as in ‘floaty dresses’ and ‘bikinis worn under huge sun hats’. The girl is, of course, Liz’s daughter and there was a subtle reference to her meeting ‘The Quiet American’ and their subsequent wedding. The second piece, ‘Naming’, related to the birth of Liz’s granddaughter, Luna, on 27 May 2021. Everyone enjoyed the way that Liz had captured the vividness of these events and congratulated her on Luna’s arrival!

Greg’s contribution was a wonderfully evocative poem, ‘See Britain by Train’ (featured with a splendid poster of the Yorkshire Coast near Whitby on the Poetry in Surrey Libraries website). The poem met with unanimous approval, with the ‘implied gentle sarcasm about the veracity of posters’ (thank you, Alan!) greatly enjoyed.

Alan also used the homework topic in his story, ‘Blown Away’. This told the sorry tale of Pam and Simon, who are in the throes of a relationship breakdown. While they are away, they  contemplate ‘the carcass of the holiday’. The return home is dreadful and once back, Pam looks out to see a cloud formation that identically replicates the mountain range of their holiday location. When she looks again, the cloud formation has ‘blown away’ – as has their relationship. Everyone enjoyed Alan’s story with its unsettling sense of impending doom.

Carla had written a prose poem in the course of a workshop, ‘How do You See Yourself in Five Years?’ This was a very real assessment and consideration of future goals and the writer’s capacity for fulfilling her ambitions as the years pass. All agreed that this was a sensitive and well-written piece, which could be reworked as a conventional poem.  

Date of next Zoom Meeting: 15 July 2021, 7.30pm

Homework: A Beautiful Game

Host: Greg

Minutes: Alan